USTA-sanctioned tennis tournament returns to Woodland

Last time a United States Tennis Association tournament came to Woodland, Oscar Figueroa and Michael Kwong were in very different places.

Figueroa was a sophomore at Pioneer High School and had just recently picked up a tennis racket for the first time. Kwong worked at a hedge fund in Hong Kong while teaching tennis lessons on the side.

On Saturday the two met in the de-facto championship of the Woodland Spring Tournament at City Park as the only players with the highest National Tennis Ratings Program rating (5.0) . Kwong won 6-0, 7-5.

The tourney, sponsored by the Cello International Tennis Academy, included about 40 adults from as far as Oakland and Roseville. Among them were Figueroa, now a tennis professional at the Natomas Racquet club, and Kwong.

Kwong heads the Woodland Tennis Club, which is an arm of the Cello International Tennis Academy founded by Phil Cello.

"Tennis in Woodland was pretty vibrant for a lot of years with Country Oaks," Cello said in reference to the racquet club that closed in 2006. "I've partnered with the city to try to revitalize tennis here, and Michael is the person the ground."

Kwong took a circuitous journey to Woodland from his native Australia. In 2003, he moved to Hong Kong in pursuit of a spot on the country's Davis Cup roster. When that didn't pan out, Kwong spent three years teaching tennis full-time before accepting a job in finance — though he continued to teach lessons at his local country club.

That's where he met Matthew Seeberger, a pupil of Cello's and a three-time NCAA singles champion while at UC Santa Cruz. Seeberger traveled to Hong Kong to teach tennis and befriended Kwong, who visited Northern California in July. Come September, when Seeberger decided to leave Cello's academy to re-apply himself to professional play, Kwong was offered the gig.

"I got a visa a week later and moved here to take over," Kwong said.

Cello, a USTA Hall of Famer who grew up in Davis and lives in Fairfield, sent Kwong to Woodland. Since September the 33-year-old has taught lessons to kids and adults as well as organizing Saturday's tournament.

"We want to train kids to be at least college players, and then possibly go out and play professional tennis," Kwong said.

Another venture of Kwong's was setting up a local "ladder," or ranking system for Woodlanders who can challenge players to matches on their own time.

Of the ladder, Kwong said, "It's completely free (and) it's to encourage tennis here and get people playing again."

People like Figueroa, the No. 4 player on the ladder as of Saturday.

The 23 year old played three seasons at Pioneer, even finishing third at the 2009 Division II Sac-Joaquin Section tournament in super doubles with Alan Toscano, and two more years at American River College. After using up his eligibility, Figueroa focused on school for his third year at ARC. In September he transferred to UC Davis, and two months later he was ready to return to returning serves.

"I would just come out here for fun," Figueroa said. "I sent (Kwong) an email in December. You need people to hit with."

Figueroa took a lesson with Kwong, and then the two started playing each other. So when Brian Martinez, the director of tennis at Natomas Racquet Club, called in February to hire Figueroa, the Woodlander had shaken off any rust.

"Since I started (at Natomas Racquet Club), Michael started getting filled up with kids so he needed someone," Figueroa said. "Now I teach kids on Saturdays."

With Figueroa's help, Kwong offers free lessons on Saturdays — for kids at 1 p.m. and adults at 2 p.m.

Cello sees yesterday's tournament as the first big step toward growing the sport in Woodland.

"Playing here at City Park is great, because it has such a great atmosphere," he said. "We're just getting started."